This week and part of next week I am studying Spanish with a private tutor I found through the Black Sheep Hostel in Medellin. It is helping but I have to admit that I am unable to envision myself speaking well anytime soon. For those of you who speak spanish I can tell you that today I spend my time wrestling with the verb gustar. I am pretty sure that "no me gusta gustar." The Black Sheep hostel is one of the older hostels here and it is busy with people coming and going. My much talked about, little acknowledged introverted side is having a hard time starting conversations with people. I am looking forward to becoming more comfortable in a strange place and having the confidence to just talk with strangers. Having a better grasp on Spanish will help as will the passing of some time out of my normal place.
I cannot promise my friends that everything I write here will be interesting. I can only say that I will continue to let you know what is going on in my experience down here. Since this first week is really about learning Spanish I have nothing really interesting to report. I expect that things are only going to get more interesting and probably less comfortable over the next few weeks. Here in the house my assumptions and boundaries of comfort are not challenged, but next week I hope to stay further south in the town of Sabaneta, hanging out with a friend of a friend of a friend, there is a visit to a farm coming up for Christmas, and some festivals to attend. For now, know that I am here, am comfortable, safe and just starting to unfold.
ciao.
aly! again, i have to say how proud i am of you! as tenuous as things may seem now, you are going to look back on this adventure as one of the best decisions of your life.
ReplyDeletemaybe this goes without saying, but never be nervous about talking to people in the hostel. on the few times i've gotten to explore the world, the travellers in the hostels tend to be the nicest and most interesting. and they want to know your story as much as you ask about theirs. offering them some wine is a good start. :)
stay safe, aly!!
<3,
patty
Aly,
ReplyDeleteYou are one amazing woman. I am so impressed with your chutzpah to just get up and go. Have a mucho fabulous time!!!
Love, love, love to you!
xox,
Nicole
Love this!! I'm missing you Aly, wishing you safe and incredible travels.
ReplyDeletePost some photos?
aly -
ReplyDeleteDamn the gustar! I think you'll be pleased with the intensive language training as I was. Don't worry about the speaking s'much, that always comes later. You'll start to notice in the meantime how quickly you'll come to listen and understand and that will build confidence. By the third month you'll be dreaming in Spanish.
Keep the posts coming as you have time - big love - Michael
I don't know if you are serious about a problem with gustar, but I will assume you are. It is a regular verb, simple to conjugate. With a simple me gusta blank or no me gusta blank, you get to express all your desires and aversions. Add a little flair to the expression and you will have your hosts in stitches. It would help to accept your very limited quantity of spanish concepts and combine them with your enormous expressive capacity. "Me gusta mucho el desayuno" with a bit of emphatic expression will go a long way toward letting people see the depth of your heartfelt appreciation for their gifts to you.
ReplyDeleteWhen children learn language, they don't learn to conjugate verbs, they just learn to make a sound that produces a result they desire.
So, for example, you can take the two kinds of past tense and surprise someone with the nuance of meaning. Think of the mental effort you have to use as similar to what you would invest in a game of Yahtze.
Me gusto with the accent on the o means I liked something at a particular moment in the past. Me gustaba means I liked something for a considerable length of time, not just for the moment in question.
I am also bad at speaking to strangers, but I know that they long to have connection to people as precious as you. I think that may be one of the secret missions that your psyche has taken you on, to break down all your certainty and cause you to depend on the kindness of strangers, overcoming your shyness in ways that I, for one, won't be doing and don't have to in "speak English" land. Don't worry about interesting. Keep it comin'
love, john